Out & About: Spokane native lands state-record mackinaw

OUTFISH – A 35-pound, 10-ounce state-record lake trout was caught Monday in Lake Chelan by Phil Colyar of Wenatchee.

Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists measured the fish, which was officially weighed on the only certified scale in the area – the baby scale at Lake Chelan Community Hospital.

Colyar’s fish was 3 ounces heavier than the previous state-record mackinaw caught at Lake Chelan in 2001.

Colyar, 56, a Spokane native, grew up fishing at Spokane County lakes. He said he regularly fishes Chelan and the upper Columbia’s salmon and steelhead.

• The fish: 35-pound, 10-ounce lake trout (or mackinaw).

• Tale of …

OUTFISH – A 35-pound, 10-ounce state-record lake trout was caught Monday in Lake Chelan by Phil Colyar of Wenatchee.

Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists measured the fish, which was officially weighed on the only certified scale in the area – the baby scale at Lake Chelan Community Hospital.

Colyar’s fish was 3 ounces heavier than the previous state-record mackinaw caught at Lake Chelan in 2001.

Colyar, 56, a Spokane native, grew up fishing at Spokane County lakes. He said he regularly fishes Chelan and the upper Columbia’s salmon and steelhead.

• The fish: 35-pound, 10-ounce lake trout (or mackinaw).

• Tale of the tape: 44.5 inches long, 28-inch girth.

• Details: Caught 270 feet deep near the Yacht Club.

• The angler: Colyar moved to Wenatchee in 1983 from his native Spokane, where he was graduated from Shadle Park High School. (His wife, Carrie, is a graduate of Mead High School.) The Colyars own a jewelry store.

• Tactics: Trolling a new U20 MPPT (purple and pink) Flatfish.

• Other gear: Lamiglas 8 1/2-foot rod, Abu Garcia Level Wind Reel, Maxima 18-pound line.

Professor probes predators in North America

OUTFIELD – Jim Peek, University of Idaho professor emeritus of Wildlife Resources, will speak on predator management in North America in a program for the Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society Tuesday, 7 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Master, 4800 N. Ramsey Rd. in Coeur d’Alene.

Peak has been part of a team charged with analyzing management of predators such as wolves and Canada lynx. He’ll discuss the effects of predator management on game populations.

I hunt therefore I am (what?)

OUTSPOKEN – Condemnable, capable, cold-hearted, complete? You fill in the headline blank, but not before you hear Spokesman-Review outdoors editor Rich Landers explain why an animal lover and wildlife enthusiast would chose to be a hunter.

Landers will present his case in a public program sponsored by the Spokane Audubon Society on Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Riverview Retirement Community, 2117 E. North Crescent Ave., (building numbered 2105-2145). Info: spokaneaudubon.org.

Landers says sportsmen are among the most ardent year-round wildlife watchers and they contribute generously to wildlife conservation.

“Animals are delicious,” he says. But that’s just one of the reasons he hunts.

St. Helens climbers apply for permits

OUTDO – Climbers are securing permits required for venturing above 4,800 feet on Mount St. Helens April 1-Oct. 31. Permits, $22, are limited to 100 a day May 15-Oct. 31. Info: mshinstitute.org.